Bouldering Horse Pens 40

Bouldering Horse Pens 40

Horse Pens 40 is one of the premiere places for bouldering in the southeastern United States, with sandstone routes ranging from V0-V11.

Horse Pens 40 is a very well known place for bouldering throughout Alabama. The parking and location arepretty well-marked with signs as you get closer to arriving. Once you arrive and park at Horse Pens, you need to go inside the store to fill out a waiver and pay $6.50 to climb. The bouldering problems range from V0-V11, and are very famous for difficult top-outs with large slopers. A full detailed map of all the bouldering problems and their ratings is available here. Horse Pens 40 also offers primitive camping from $13 to $15. Night climbing is also very popular during the summer due to the excessive heat.

Reviews

Horse Pens 40 is a great space to go to set up shop for a while and put big effort in to getting stronger. It is notoriously sandbagged. There are routes of all levels, but things definitely get more exciting when you're climbing harder. If you like slopers, this place can be your dream.
The camping situation is nice. Once set up, you're super close to the routes. Night climbing is really fun out here. There are often people with good light set ups going on. Being in Alabama, pay attention to the weather. Anything other than winter and night climbing may be all you're able to do.

I went to Horsepens 40 for a spring break, & it was great. Saw a lot of climbs for beginners as well as some more challenging climbs. There's also some pretty trails on the west side of the area if you're not into bouldering.